The present invention relates to an improved toy vehicle.
More specifically, this invention is related to a toy vehicle such as a car of the type comprising a small electrical motor and which is run on tracks made up of severally mutually engaged plates including guide members which are flanked by electrically conductive rails. The vehicle is provided with contacts to draw current from the rail or rails to supply current to the motor of the vehicle.
In the past, vehicles have been designed to run on tracks with high speed and stability. However, upon impact with an obstacle, the front wheels of the vehicle are often lifted from the track causing disengagement of the guide elements whereupon contact with the electrical rail is lost so that the vehicle stops running.
The vehicle of the present invention has the purpose of avoiding this disadvantage and further has the object of running properly in the portions of the racetrack which are made difficult by a deliberate arrangement or positioning of several obstacles on the track whereby the traditional play operation of the toy vehicle race may be converted into a collision or cross-country car race with the excitement and enjoyment this brings to the vehicle's user.
To obtain the above objects, the vehicle of the present invention uses a special wheel holder frame wherein a member is provided which runs in the track's guide and is in the form of a fin or plate which is located at the forward end of an arm member which is resiliently connected on a pivot shaft with the wheel holder frame. The guide fin is connected to the arm member through an intermediate component which is associated with two mutually orthogonal bushings. One of the bushings is vertically located and the guide fin is provided with a shaft which is inserted into the vertical bushing whereby the guide fin is pivotable about the vertical axis defined by the shaft. The other bushing is horizontally located and attached adjacent the forward end of the arm member. A shaft extends from the intermediate member through this latter bushing to permit tilting of the vehicle and wheel holder frame about a horizontal axis without affecting the orientation of the guide member with respect to the guide track. The vehicle frame may be provided with abutment members to limit the degree of pivoting about the respective axes.
The present invention will be better understood by reference to the annexed drawings which show a practical and non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.